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cakt1991 's review for:
To Sketch a Scandal
by Jess Everlee
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
To Sketch a Scandal is the fourth book in Jess Everlee’s Lucky Lovers of London series. It can be read as a standalone, and I find that it’s one of the stronger installments of the series, with book two failing to make much of an impression, and book three being a DNF. That’s not to say I didn’t have some misgivings going in, albeit very petty ones; as a Swiftie I cringed every time I read the name “Matty,” especially in the chapter headers, since the blurb referred to him as “Matthew.” I also forgot he was a character from prior books…that’s how forgettable some of those books were! I did get used to it, and it’s absolutely not the author’s fault, but I couldn’t help the somewhat visceral reaction.
However, once I got into the meat of the story and got to know these characters, I was charmed by them. I was a bit more invested in Warren, and intrigued by his family and background, with him being Punjabi, and especially the complexities that come from their sudden change in station due to his brother’s new fortune. Warren also running the queer club at the center of the series’ action was also fairly interesting, providing a window into queer life as it may have been back then, even with the threat of prosecution for “homosexual behavior.”
In spite of his unfortunate moniker, I also liked Matty. His position is even more at risk due to the legal precedent against queer men, as he’s a police detective. The struggle with that, and the expectations of his rather heartless mentor, are issues he reckons with, and while he took longer to get to know, I ended up feeling for him as he struggled to find his own happiness in a less-than-ideal situation.
The romance was also fairly cute, with solid tension and chemistry between them. It’s somewhat lower in stakes, given the words “forbidden romance” are attached, but there’s enough acknowledgment of the situation politically and the other circumstances for that to be understood. And I’m glad that historical queer romances can exist that acknowledge the harsh realities of the past (and nod to some of those same realities in the present), while still being a space for queer joy first and foremost.
This was a solid read, and I’d recommend it to readers who are in the mood for a fairly lighthearted queer historical romance.